Cats and Dogs
Family Reunion Snow and sunshine passed by the figure of Herculean Leo, who worn his winter marine outift, along with a cloak-like jacket over his shoulders. Though, it had no pauldrons, unsurprising due to his rank as a mere Commander. Leo gritted his teeth, yes, a mere Commander. Pew, pew, his feet stepped over the air, kicking it softly with Geppo, those same air strikes travelled just a few inches and already reached the snow-covered ground. Behind the path he trailed, the snow was red, droplets fell from his boots, "Gh!" He gritted his teeth again, biting into his lips. Rather than walk into the island and begin his semi-flight, Leo had, instead, flew from over a distance from the ocean, having asked the captain of his ship to not land. Isle de Antochi looked as calm as ever, passing by one of its multi-seasons and getting covered in snow. Not Leo was not used to the winter, but, having to visit his family in such difficult circumstances had always been somewhat of a hassle. In the distance, he could already see a large house with its frontal yard. There was a loud howl from the direction of the large villa in the distance, much like that of a wolf's. A small blur of gold and white lanced through the air from the front yard, speeding directly in the direction of Leo. An anger filled scream followed the form as it moved, not losing an ounce of speed. The form revealed itself to be Herculean Lady, dress in furred boots and light winter attire, using her own Geppo to move through the air. She collided feet-first with Leo's midsection, knocking the much larger male to the ground with the force of a speeding loli. She pushed off his body into a flip, landing easily onto her feet as she came back to the ground. She straightened herself and towered over her brother's prone form, her glare showing even through her dark shades "LEONIDAS SECUNDUS REGULUS NIMIANUS HERCULEAN!!" Her voice echoed around them, setting several dogs and presumably wolves to howling. She grit her teeth and forced herself to lower her voice, though her glare intensified for the effort "How dare you bring dishonor upon the Herculean name with such a loss! Not even just once, I don't want to count the number of them!" She turned on her heel and started pacing quickly "What are we going to do with you...if mother finds out, boy oh boy! First, explain yourself!!" "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Was the only thing that left Leo's mouth as he was struck by some sort of flying object, object which was in actuality his sister. The pain from his feet kicked in at the same time, prompting tears to leave his eyes briefly. With his body ricocheting through the air, Leo landed on the snow in an explosion, "GAH!" "Damn, why use my full name?!" He tried barking back at his sister, only for her words to finally into his mind. "L-Loss..." Shaking legs sustained his body to stand up, "T-The opponent was too... s-strong!" Leo bit his lips, falling on his rear due to the pain his legs felt. "Even if his attacks didn't- Didn't affect me..." Cupping his head, Leo glanced down, "I don't- I don't know!!" "T-too..." Lady was practically vibrating with rage as she stared at her brother incredulously "Too strong? TOO STRONG?!" She whirled away from her brother, kicking up a tornado of snow, only to whip back around just as quickly. She glared daggers at him, a look that most definitely would kill if it had the power. "We are HERCULEAN!! What are our words?!" She asked the question, though gave no space to answer, barreling forward without pause as she began pacing "Unbowed! Unbent! Unbroken! There is no one too strong, only those who are too weak!" She growled low in her throat and turned to glare at Leo once more. "You're lucky I won't let mother know about this! She'd be beyond furious...No, we are going to train. For hours, days, weeks on end until you surpass your limits." She held her head high and looked down her nose at her younger brother, finger pointed between his eyes "You're about to enter hell. And if you die, I'll drag you back kicking and screaming just to kill you again! Now come along." She turned on her heel and started to make her way back to the villa. With a single punch, Leo swiftly pushed some snow from around him, "I know I shouldn't say that!!" His eyes shifted direction from Lady's frame to her feet, "B-But the world out there is so much bigger than I t-thought!" More punches were dealt against the snow, either making it erupt or burst away in circles. "Mother... she doesn't need to be bothered by this! If she hears it or not, which she probably did, it shouldn't hold me from improving myself, Sis!" Leo didn't even bother if his shouts reached across the island, he had to get it out. "The one that needs to feel bothered is me... I have never felt so weak!!" Finally, mustering all of his strength, Leo stood on his shaking legs, waving a fist at Lady. Wolf and Lion, Combatant Having heard his words, Lady lead Leo through their family's estate. She made sure to avoid the places their mother frequented, and even a few she didn't, to avoid any wrath she may want to visit upon her son. They now stood in the snow covered training grounds of their youth, Lady having shrugged off her winter coat and tossed it onto a dummy. "We should warm up in no time." She said simply, turning to scrutinize Leo "We have pretty much the same skill set, though we fight to our strengths. I know what you're good at...so instead of going bit by bit we'll kick this off with a bang!" A sadistic smile blossomed across her face as she said the words. She slammed her foot on the ground ten times in quick succession, a classic Soru. Her path of movement had her aimed to slam head first into Leo as she had at their first meeting, but when she got close she kicked off the air to his left, bringing herself around to his side in an attempt to land a roundhouse kick to his head. "I couldn't agree more!!" Leo barked back at her, throwing his coat and his shinnai aside. Though he would like to follow what his sister told him, he preferred to focus on his bare person for that portion of the fight. His knees were bent and shoulder-length apart. He knew he had to react before the sound of her flash step reached him, thus, bringing his arms together in front of his face, Leo yelled, "Tekkai!" Snow exploded offwards due to the slight expansion of his muscles, muscles which took on a boost in rigidness akin to iron's. Even if Lady had diverged her trajectory and hit him within another moment, Leo still had his defense up. She was a warrior prided in her skill and speed, if Leo couldn't keep up at that very moment, he could still raise his defenses. Indeed, granted how immobile and rigid he had become, Leo hoped that the impact of Lady's attack on him would basically recoil back into her leg. Something which could briefly stagger her. Lady's legs collided with Leo's steel-like flesh and she had to admit, it stung more than a bit. She never remembered to account for Tekkai when it came to fighting other people who knew of Rokushiki. The recoil from their collision sent her ricocheting back into the air a bit, though she recovered with a combination of Geppo and Soru, known as Kamisori, to ascend high above her brother. What comes up must come down, and she used that to her advantage, launching herself back at the ground, and Leo, with her hand held out to her side. Her fingers were hooked in the shape of a claw and on her face was some cross of determination and sadistic glee. Probably at the prospect of pressing her brother past his utmost limits. "Tekkai Kenpo: Rousou!" As she fell, she tensed her hand to match her brother's own sturdiness while swinging it forward with brutal force in order to combine the defense of Tekkai with the offense of Shigan. The attack, backed by the force built up from her fall, threatened to cleave through Leo like a hot knife through butter. Widen, Leo's eyes only widened at the sight of Lady swiftly recovering by mid-air. He instantly tried to unharden his muscles, so that he could regain mobility, yet, Lady soared with ferocity towards him, "I won't-" Rather than finishing his thought like he always did, Leo merely continued with his choice. Taking advantage of the fact he was shifting his muscles, Leo did not stop there, he had an attack to react to after all. Indeed, rather than leaving his muscles in their normal condition, he made them flow along with the wind, with his spirit, with the attack of his opponent. Kami-e had his body flatten like some sort of paper, Leo managed to barely do so due to the immense potential behind his sister's attack. The sheer pressure it expelled could be treated as an extension of itself, allowing Leo's body to act before the actual attack came. Regardless, Leo gritted his teeth, for Lady's rigid hand grazzed by the right side of his torso, even when he had actually tried to dodge on the last moment. Blood spilled from his fresh wound, yet he did not step away to recoil. Rather, as Lady passed by him, Leo pushed his hand towards her side as well, making use of the quickness of his flattened body, his arm travelled through an air ring. Finger outstretched and thinner than normal, Leo yelled, "Shigan: Kami!!" Indeed, a move taught to him by Bambina, which used both Kami-e and Shigan to further enhance the piercing power of Leo's finger. It hadn't occurred to Lady that her brother might actually think of dodging instead of taking the attack head-on. The coward. Her momentum carried her down into the ground with massive force, enough to drive her fist into the ground. Deep into the ground...she was stuck. She tried to yank her hand free but it was well and truly stuck. That was...perfect. She was able to look up just in time to see her brother preparing for his attack. She was impressed at his combination of Shigan and Kami-e, as it was something she wouldn't have even thought of. Then again she disliked that particular Rokushiki. Her hand lanced up and knocked Leo's arm off course, causing the attack to open up a shallow wound across her side rather than piercing wholly through it. She grabbed her brother's wrist and locked her hand in a vice grip, enhanced by the rigidity of her Tekkai to ensure her brother wasn't going anywhere. Her grin twisted into a mischievous smile, knowing she had him right where she wanted him "Rankyaku!" She kicked up her foot savagely at her brother's stomach. "GHHH!" Leo's teeth slided against one another, face tensed up as it observed Lady deflect his combined move, though, he still felt the freshness of blood upon his finger. Still, the feeling didn't linger in his mind, while the blood on his finger went unnoticed as Lady swiftly took hold of his wrist. Usually, that happened so that the opponent could not escape the next attack, at least that was what Leo knew, he couldn't let the next attack hit him, whatever it would be. She was likely to throw him or use one of her legs to attack, Leo gritted his teeth, not even waiting nor looking if Lady really was using her lower limbs. Using the fluidity that Kami-e had provided to his body, Leo allowed for it to move without no hesitation, indeed, it would move not only instantly, but with the quickness necessary to take the next few steps within the span of a single second. Soru, a technique that allowed him to become a whisper and enter a high-speed movement in a straight line towards Lady. Normally, he would have his arm hurt as it was held while he was moving quickly, yet, due to the abilities of Kami-e, Leo would be capable of suffering no damage and break nothing on that arm. Indeed, even before her attack would properly connect and finish its path, Leo's body would slam into her, creating a ring of air that exploded outwards from their meeting. It would likely even get Lady's hand out of the ground, breaking the earth into several shards, the snow roared around them, blasting off and dispersing with the pressure. Her brother seemed to be full of surprises, so she had to admit she was somewhat impressed. He was giving such a good performance now...maybe it wasn't so outrageous to think he had faced an insurmountable opponent? No! Absolutely not!! She thought vehemently, a low growl in her throat. She wouldn't entertain the thought or enable her brother's weakness! With her arm violently freed and Leo plowing into her middle, Lady had very little options. She wrapped her arm, still smarting a bit from being trapped in the ground then yanked out, around Leo's neck tightly. Doubling down on her vice-like grip, she wrapped a single leg around his middle and performed a Geppo with the other. Using the momentum from Leo's Soru and her Geppo, they were both carried backwards since they were held so tightly together. Shifting her grip, Lady twirled as they moved through the air, loosening her leg and snapping her arms downwards in order to slam her brother head first into the ground "Bombe de Lupus!" A gasp made its way out of Leo's lips, eyes widening quick whilst Lady's arm wrapped around his neck. "GAAH!" He grunted loudly that time, body flipping and continuing with the same speed from before, how could he not think she would use his own speed against him? Without so much as another second, through Lady's ingenious use of Geppo, they both changed direction while mid-air. Boom, the only sound that filled Leo's ears was that of his body provoking an explosion whence it collided against the soil and snow. In trial to escape, both these things got pushed away violently in a spherical manner, crumbling beneath the clash of the siblings. Flesh, bone, and cloth all smashed, with flesh and cloth torn, while Leo gasped towards the skies, pouring out both blood and saliva. A wave of pure air and pressure continued to cover Leo as he laid upon the ground, legs rising and falling in a second. The pupils of his eyes started to flicker, veins notable on the white of his eyes, "Again?! In such a short time?!" He wanted to scream in pain, yet, it was still too much for him to even bother and raise any muscles. His jaw shuddered, as he tried to utter anything, teeth covered in blood. "Not... down!" Lady landed on her feet with a soft thud, now towering over her brother's prone form. She just stared at him for a long moment, her face completely passive as she did so. She nodded once after what seemed like an eternity. "That was...acceptable. You need to learn how to last longer though! Herculean must fight until every bone in their body turned to sawdust, until every muscle is shredded to hell, until they can no longer breathe if it means beating the crap out of an enemy!" "Up you get." She reached down and grabbed Leo by his collar, not waiting for his response before pulling him up to his feet. She planted Leo and dusted off his front, briskly turning and heading to one side of the training field. She pulled two wooden swords from a rack and tossed it to her brother "Since you're probably in rough shape after getting owned, we'll go to something a bit easier on ya, huh? I'll even let you get the first shot in..." She smirked evilly, twirling the weapon in her hand. Acceptable, the word fell over Leo's body, making it seem as if he further sank into the snow. His arms, legs, and even neck gave out, resting against the white soil, "...Yeah." Was the mere word that left Leo's mouth in response to Lady's speech, "Yeah..." Sweat meshed with blood and wetted his back side. One would see his dirty clothes, courtesy of the mix mentioned above, once Lady rose him from the ground. "Hah..." Leo's jaw fell down, eyes half-closed while staring upon the ground that he had laid on. The weapon she had thrown hit his head, instead of being caught, prompting him to stumble back with his left leg, "Hah... can- can you wait-" Leo swallowed raw saliva, only for his expression to twist once he felt blood, though, he only continued, "-A few minutes?" Lady considered him for a long moment "I guess that is enough for today. You look like crap, Leo." She moved to pick up the sword she had tossed, putting them both back on the rack. She was back at Leo's side in a second, pulling one of his arms across her shoulders. She was a foot shorter than him, true, but she was just as strong so it was easy to support her brother's weight. "Let's get you patched up and some food in your stomach, okay. After that, some rest. You should be good to spar for tomorrow, yeah? Of course you will." She was speaking more to herself than Leo in this moment, practically dragging him along with her towards the house "It should be easy enough to avoid mother. I'm not even sure if she's here now that I think about it...Father might worry. He's such a mother hen sometimes." She mumbled to herself. "I... always do." Leo remarked more to himself in a undistinguishable mumble, even as he was close to Lady. "Of course..." He said more audibly this time, trying a smile at her, "You don't have to worry about their treatment of me." That said, they both had entered the house after a few minutes. Category:Role-Plays Category:Shoshiki Category:DamonDraco